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Wednesday, October 8, 2014

In Defense of Beth Moore & Others

Zecharaih 7:9, 10b - Make fair decisions. Show faithful love and compassion to one another. Do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.

When our daughter was little, she would look up at us with her beautiful brown eyes and say, "I don't get it." I loved those moments of innocence and trust. She felt she could truly tell us when she didn't understand something. There was no need for her to mask her confusion.

I feel a bit like my daughter right now. I just don't get ugliness, unkind words, and the joy some people get from hurting others. It baffles me-

I certainly don't claim to never have hurt people. I feel awful when I do and think about it for days.

The thing that troubles me is when people hurt others knowingly. Or when people use unkind words without regard to how it will cause others to feel. I just don't get it-

I am currently involved in a Beth Moore Bible study. As I was reading through my homework, I had a question that I wanted to research on the internet. I typed in my question and was astounded at what appeared on my screen.

There were a number of websites speaking ugly about Beth Moore, her beliefs, and her overall style. I was horrified and immediately my heart felt badly for her. Many of the articles, blogs, etc. were written by people who claimed to be Christians. {I have no way of knowing someone's true heart. That, thankfully, is between the person and God. However, I used the word "claimed" because someone who is truly trying with all of their might to live for Christ does not purposely use spiteful, mean words.}

Here's the thing - I do get a great deal from Beth Moore studies. I can relate to her passion and love. However, that is not why I am so extremely bothered by this. I am bothered because when did it become ok to trash another person??

I get not agreeing with someone. That is a personal opinion. What I don't get is the crude manner in which these words were written. There are a number of Christian teachers I do not relate with. I am not a fan of their teaching styles, etc. But why on earth would I write about it?? What purpose would that serve??

Isn't it just internet gossip??

This whole thing started my brain on a journey of thinking how common this can be. So many examples popped in to my mind.

Recently, I was checking Facebook and came across a post of someone bashing someone in our community. The name was not used, but the exact moment was shared. Sadly, there were many comments in support of the post-er. I couldn't help but think how mean it was. What purpose did it serve??

Just this morning I was looking on Pinterest for a recipe I had pinned. I was going to throw it in my crockpot and began reading through the recipe. It was pinned from a blog and the woman that wrote the blog had edited the post and added that she was horrified at all of the nasty comments that came in over the recipe. It was for Jambalaya for goodness sakes!! Apparently, people were bashing her because the recipe was too watery and true Jambalaya is not. Seriously!? What purpose did the rude comments serve??

One year, someone I know received a birthday card in the mail. The family that received it had recently begun eating even healthier than usual. The card was so rude and passive aggressive that it was unreal. It had Jesus on the front and His disciples making fun of various forms of healthy food. On the inside it stated, "Stay away from haters" or something to that effect. Again...what purpose did it serve??

Words, whether written or spoken, can really hurt someone. I think we must think before we speak or write something. The basic question we must ask ourselves is - Does this help or hurt?
If there is ANY chance at all that it will harm someone don't say it, write it, or send it in a card.

We have to examine our hearts and our purpose. If our purpose is not lined up with Jesus, we should not do it. Period!

Matthew 15:18 - But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart -